President Nicusor Dan’s First Foreign Policy Speech

Speech of the President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, at the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy

Nicusor Dan: Minister, ladies and gentlemen, counselors, Mr. Director, heads of diplomatic, consular and cultural missions, distinguished guests, it is a joy to be with you today, I hope we can have a direct discussion as soon as we are free from the press. Where are we today? Domestically, as you know, the Romanian state requires a reform and immediately after the reform we must relaunch the economy and I am very optimistic that we will be able to do this. Externally, we have been experiencing multiple crises for several years, which we are familiar with: the war in Ukraine, a global competition that has changed, has become fiercer, focused on the economy, on resources, technology is becoming increasingly important, hybrid warfare, including in our area of ​​Europe, and to these changes, diplomacy obviously has to adapt and I am convinced that we have the power to do so. Our foreign policy must remain predictable and coherent, and here, membership in the European Union, membership in NATO, the Strategic Partnership with the United States, respect for international law, the rules-based world order, and dialogue and cooperation with our international partners, these are things that we will not change. There are three directions in which our activity must be divided or which we must emphasize: security, the economic dimension, and Romanians abroad.

On the security side, obviously, Romania will continue to be a NATO ally. We will continue to be interested in the Black Sea and, in this sense, we must use the Bucharest Format9. You know that we will organize the Bucharest 9 summit next year. We must invest in defense and the European Commission's SAFE instrument, for which we have already sent the proposals. Obviously, continuing support for Ukraine and working with our partners on this, because it is about our own security.

The Republic of Moldova must remain a priority. We will continue to support both the efforts to integrate into the Union and all the concrete issues that the Republic of Moldova needs - transport, energy, economic cooperation - and I am optimistic that the citizens of the Republic of Moldova will continue, in the elections that will be held at the end of next month, the European direction.

The strategic partnership with the United States must be strengthened, especially in the security area and in the economic area, which, in my opinion, we have not sufficiently exploited, and I invite you to contribute to the new national defense strategy, which we will finalize this fall. As I said earlier, an important component, that of hybrid warfare, for which, in my opinion, like all our partners, we continue to learn.

The economic dimension. Obviously, our membership of the European Union, where we need to be more present, the negotiations for the future multiannual financial framework, which must take place in parallel with a reflection process - which, in my opinion, we have not had - internally, about which the development directions of Romania starting with 2028 should be. Romania's accession to the OECD, a strategic objective with a deadline of the end of 2026, and that will be the moment from which the Romanian economy will have, after completing the necessary reforms that are currently underway, the opportunity to relaunch itself. We have a private environment that is competitive and I am optimistic that we will succeed in doing so. However, for this we need a strategy, which we do not have, to be very realistic, and we need your effort, which, to put it very directly, our diplomacy has not been used to making. So, we need an internal effort, in which the Presidency, the Government, the Ministry of Economy define Romania's strategic economic priorities, in a dialogue with companies in Romania, which we have not had, to be very honest again, and an effort is needed that you make so that the private sector of Romania can develop partnerships and develop economically in the countries where you represent us.

We have an opportunity related to our geographical position. Romania must and can become a connectivity hub between Europe and Asia and Africa, we must work on this. The Black Sea Strategy must be part of this strategy. And the last thing, the Romanians in the diaspora, again I say it directly, Romania does not currently have a true strategy for the Romanians in the diaspora. Romania does not have an exhaustive study on the needs of these people and this is something that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency, with input from you, must do, so that we have a strategy with objectives, with budgets, with deadlines for implementation and, further, it will be your task to ensure that the collaboration, the partnership with Romanians who have chosen to temporarily or permanently live abroad is more efficient than it is today. Having said that, I am convinced that together we will succeed in having a concrete, pragmatic approach to all the issues that we have stated and I am convinced that at the meeting that we will have in a year we will be able to talk about these results. I wish you success in your work!

Initial news

The second day of the annual meeting of Romanian diplomacy will see the participants meet with President Nicusor Dan.

The meeting is the first of the head of state since taking office with Romanian diplomats accredited in various countries around the world.

Reporter: Oana Bala - President Nicusor Dan will deliver his first major foreign policy speech since taking office on Tuesday.

He will receive at the Cotroceni Palace the heads of diplomatic missions of consular offices, as well as the directors of Romanian cultural institutes, in the context of the annual meeting of diplomacy.

The head of state will present to them the lines of Romanian foreign policy, which he also announced when he was invested in office: the relationship with the United States of America, participation in the decisions of the European Union and NATO, but also supporting the European path of the Republic of Moldova.

According to the Romanian President, Romania needs an active foreign policy and solid national security, in order to be respected and protected in an increasingly unstable world.

After attending the speech of President Nicusor Dan, Romanian diplomats will go to the Palace of Parliament for two plenary sessions on European topics.

Among the guests is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Mihai Popsoi.

Translated by: Radu Matei